Agenda, decisions and draft minutes

The Leader referred to the sad loss of Councillor Hugh Irving who would be missed by all and paid tribute to his long standing hard work and dedication to Prestatyn and its residents.  There were a few moments of silent reflection.

There were no apologies.

There were no apologies.

No declarations of interest had been raised.

No declarations of interest had been raised.

No urgent matters had been raised.

No urgent matters had been raised.

To receive the minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 25 March 2025 (copy enclosed). 

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 25 March 2025 be received and confirmed as a correct record.

The minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 25 March 2025 were submitted.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 25 March 2025 be received and confirmed as a correct record.

To consider a report by Councillor Barry Mellor, Lead Member for Environment and Transport (copy enclosed) seeking Cabinet approval of the Local Needs Assessment, the Draft Local Toilet Strategy, and the planned next steps for future public conveniences provision in Denbighshire.

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

(a)      approves the Local Needs Assessment (Appendix 1 to the report);

(b)      approves the Draft Local Toilet Strategy (Appendix 4 to the report);

(c)      endorses the proposed next steps for each Public Convenience facility (Appendix 6 to the report);

(d)      confirms that it has read, understood and taken account of the Wellbeing Impact Assessment (Appendix 9 to the report), and

(e)      delegates authority for the Lead Member for Highways and Environment to agree any changes required before publishing the Local Toilet Strategy.

Councillor Barry Mellor presented the report seeking Cabinet approval of the Local Needs Assessment, the Draft Local Toilet Strategy, and the planned next steps for future Public Conveniences (PCs) provision in Denbighshire.

The Corporate Director: Environment and Economy, Head of Highways and Environmental Services and Principal Manager Catering and Cleaning also attended for this item.  Councillor Mellor highlighted the importance of public toilets and had been working with the service with a view to keeping toilets open where there was a clear need which had been reflected within the report.

The Head of Service drew specific attention to the following elements of the report –

·       Public Toilet Needs Assessment – the assessment of need for toilets within local communities and public consultation, with an identified need for PCs in Rhyl, Prestatyn, Denbigh, Ruthin, Llangollen and Corwen but no identified need in St. Asaph, Rhuddlan or Dyserth

·       Draft Local Toilets Strategy (based on the Needs Assessment and subsequent public consultation) – set out the plan to achieve the overall aim for PC provision

·       Next steps – detailed the current provision and future options to ensure the aims of the Strategy were met whilst working within budgetary restrictions.  This involved focusing on the provision of PCs in towns that had an identified need; reviewing charges for toilets and investing in them to be able to charge for them; reviewing the operational arrangements and opening hours of PCs; exploring options for Council owned PCs to be transferred to other organisations/partners, and the promotion and expansion of the Community Toilet Scheme.

The report included a proposed plan for PCs and recommended, in summary –

·       Given that the operation of PCs was a discretionary service, the Council should cease to operate PCs in towns where there was no identified need

·       Pod facilities that were at end of life and the software and parts were no longer available should be closed and decommissioned

·       PCs in towns with an identified need should be upgraded to enable them to accept cashless payment so they could be unstaffed (an application to Welsh Government’s Brilliant Basics Fund to upgrade facilities had been unsuccessful and further external funding opportunities were being explored, including working in partnership with City/Town/Community Councils and seeking their contributions alongside investment from the Council’s capital funds)

·       Setting the price of entry for PCs at a level to enable the service to operate in budget, and further partnership working with City/Town/Community Councils

·       Continuing promotion of the Community Toilet Scheme to expand take up.

Cabinet carefully considered the report and its contents.  Whilst no one was in favour of reducing public conveniences provision within the county the Council, along with all other local authorities, faced significant budget pressures and it was in that context that difficult decisions needed to be made to protect statutory services.  The importance of public toilets was recognised, and Cabinet considered the plans to both invest and upgrade facilities based on identified need and also the mitigation measures as outlined for those facilities where closure was proposed.

Main areas of debate focused on the following –

·       Councillor Emrys Wynne highlighted an accuracy point and it was confirmed that Ruthin had been included as a town with an identified need for PCs and Ruthin Festival Committee (not Ruthin Town Council) had expressed an interest to take over the Market Street facility for a different purpose; it was suggested in the event of any toilet closures notices were placed to advise of the nearest facilities

·       Cabinet considered the promotion and uptake of the Community Toilet Scheme (CTS) to be crucial to address any gaps in provision in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

To consider a report by the Head of Finance and Audit (copy enclosed) updating Cabinet on outstanding matters relating to 2025/26 budget, sets the scene for budget setting in the medium term (2026/27 – 2028/29), and updates the self-assessment of the Council’s level of financial resilience and sustainability.

RESOLVED that Cabinet approves the updates as listed in section 2.1 of the report.

The Head of Finance and Audit presented the report providing an update on outstanding matters relating to the 2025/26 budget, budget setting in the medium term (2026/27 – 2028/29) and updated self-assessment of the Council’s financial resilience and sustainability.

Cabinet was guided through the report detail which focused on the following –

·       a final version of the 2024/25 savings tracker which showed that 82% of major savings proposals and 92% of non-strategic savings had been achieved

·       Council having set the 2025/26 budget and Council Tax on 20 February 2025 with a small increase in the final local government settlement of £29,659

·       Medium Term Financial Strategy and Plan 2026/27 – 2028/29 including current budget projections along with assumptions that underpinned the projections and the Council’s strategic approach to the management of its finances and outlined some of the financial issues facing the Council over the next 3 years, and

·       self-assessment of financial resilience and sustainability setting out an assessment of the Council’s position against common themes and issues identified by CIPFA (Chartered Institute of Public Finance & Accountability).

The Leader thanked the Head of Service for the comprehensive report which highlighted the financial challenges ahead and put into context the difficult decisions which had to be made, citing the previous item on Public Conveniences as a case in point.  He also took the opportunity to thank Councillor Gwyneth Ellis for hard work over the last three years as the Lead Cabinet Member in that regard.

The Chief Executive referred to the estimated £11m pressures.  Work had been carried out to reduce those pressures which involved a combination of approaches via savings and increased income.  Difficult decisions regarding savings needed to be made taking into account the overall financial position and whilst there was some criticism that individual decisions were taken in isolation, and the amount saved relatively trivial in comparison with the overall budget, the MTFS set out the scale of the financial challenge and all those savings and elements combined would be required to deliver a balanced budget.  It was right to have that test and challenge when discussing individual savings proposals, but it was also important to consider the overall financial context in which those decisions were being made.

The Head of Finance and Audit responded to questions raised as follows –

·       following a recommendation from the Governance and Audit Committee the estimated percentage increase in the level of Council Tax required to fully fund the pressures, assuming no savings achieved or increase in the Revenue Support Grant, had been included within the Medium Term Financial Plan.  It was a theoretical figure and the Council’s approach to funding the budget gap to date had been a combination of savings/efficiencies and increase in Council Tax

·       agreed that communication with residents around the budget was important but also challenging given the complexities around local government finances and work was ongoing in this regard with a workstream looking at budgets and transformation communications.  The Council Tax leaflet had been updated detailing the cost of services and myriad of responsibilities the Council had.  Given the ongoing nature of the need for that work the Head of Service agreed to provide a report back to Cabinet specifically on that communication work

·       the original budget saving following the review of Libraries Provision was £360k; £300k had been achieved in 2024/25 due to the changes being implemented in June 2024 and therefore the full year impact had not been achieved.  However, £360k would be achieved in 2025/26 given it was a recurring saving

·       the risk around the new financial system was highlighted given it was the first  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

RESOLVED that Cabinet’s forward work programme be noted.

The Cabinet forward work programme was presented for consideration and members noted an addition to the July meeting relating to the Public Engagement, Participation and Petition Scheme.

RESOLVED that Cabinet’s forward work programme be noted.

The meeting concluded at 12.40 pm.